Rain
by Leary O'Neill
Summary: Reflections from a number of the Hogwarts Students in the wake of the Chamber of Secrets.


The rain slammed into her red hair, soaking it, plastering ruby strands to her face and neck as she tilted her head back to gaze up at the sky. Free. She was free of that blasted book, free of it's curse, free of the blank spells and the tiredness, from the lonliness he demanded. The rain pounded against her pale skin, and she opened her mouth, letting the large drops wet her throat, before pushing her hair off her face. She closed her eyes, and stood, arms spread and head back, letting the rain soak her.  
  
I don't feel a thing....and I stop remembering...  
  
She wasn't sure how long she stood out there before she realized she wasn't alone. Standing in the shelter of a stone overhang, blue eyes to match her own. She let her arms drop to her sides, and walked towards him, stopping just outside the shelter. "Hi." she said. He looked at her, worry written all over his face. "You should come inside and dry off Ginny. You'll catch a cold." he said. Ginny nodded. "Where's... where are your friends?" she asked.  
  
Days are just like moments turned to hours....  
  
"Harry's checking on Hermione in the Hospital Wing. Come up with me." Ron finally answered. Ginny nodded, but didn't come under the shelter. She turned, and took a couple of steps into the rain. "It feels good." she said, and tilted her head back. "The Rain?" Ron asked. "Yeah...I feel all...creepy crawly...like I've got snakes under my skin." she said, and he stepped into the rain. "Are you okay?" Ron asked worriedly. She nodded. "I'll be alright. Maybe not now...but I will be. Harry...Harry risked his life to save me. So did you." she stated, and looked at her brother.  
  
Mother used to say...'If you want, You'll find a way...'  
  
Ron shook his head. "I wish I could have done more...I was so worried." he sighed,andreachedout, hugging his sister, soemthing he rarely did. As the rain soaked into them both, Ginny felt something other than rainwater on her cheeks. warm tears fell on her cheek, and she looked up, wiping them from Ron's cheeks. "Don't cry Ron...harry and I are OK..." she soothed. "But we could have lost you, Gin." he whispered, emotion clear on his face.  
  
But Mother never danced through fire showers...  
  
Ginny hugged ron tightly. "It's gonna be OK. Harry saved me. It's just a memory now...just a memory." she said firmly. Ron nodded, hugging her tightly, before he wiped his cheeks. He tilted his head back, and let the rain wash the last vestiges of salt from his cheeks, then offered a hand to his sister. "Let's go upstairs and get warmed up, huh?" he said. She nodded, and took his hand, letting him lead her back inside.  
  
Walk.  
  
Harry managed to escape from his visit to Hermione without Madam Pomfrey insisting on having 'another look at that arm.' He made his way up to the astronomy tower, and stepped out onto the heavy rain. He rubbed his arm where the Basilisk's tooth ahd pierced his flesh...where the teras of a phoenix had healed him. Thinking about his burhs with death set his nerves aflame in remembered fear.  
  
In the Rain.  
  
He remembered Ginny sitting up, gasping with surprise, then turning, and seeing the wound on his arm. The fear in her eyes, and the emotion that echoed it in his heart. He could do worse than to die saving Ginny, he'd thought at the time. Then the tears from Fawkes had healed his wounds, and washed away his fear.  
  
In the Rain.  
  
He'd dragged himself to his feet, grabbed the book and Ginny's hand, and had stumbled from the chamber of secrets. He was exahusted, and when he stumbled, Ginny had helped him to his feet, supporting him with her returned energy. With the death of the Memory of Tom, she was whole again. Ron had made a hole in the wall, just big enough for two people so small as Harry and Ginny to squeeze through. Harry, ever the gentleman, had made her go first, though he was weaker. She did it, and helped Ron pull Harry through after.  
  
I walk in the Rain, in the rain...is it right...or is it wrong?  
  
After Lucius had left, and Harry had freed Dobby, he had a sudden bout of insecurity. Certainly he'd chosen Gryffendor...sure he'd pulled the sword of Godric Gryffendor from the sorting hat. But he was a parselmouth. Because part of Voldemort lived in him. What was he now? His mother's love had protected him from death, but had placed a part of her murderer into him. They were irrevocably connected now...through the scar he bore on his head...through the secret language he spoke. What could it mean to his future?  
  
And is it here that I belong?  
  
In the Dungeons, he wandered, deep in thought. Having for once managed to lose his oafish companions, Draco mused on the recent events at school. Fiery little Ginny Weasley, who had stood up to him for Potter's sake...had been given Riddle's journal by his father. Draco wasn't sure how he felt about it. The girl was a pureblood, even if she was a pathetic muggle- loving one. Had he slipped it to Granger or Potter, Draco wouldn't have given it a second thought. Even as he hated Weasleys in general, the girl had spunk.  
  
I don't hear a sound. Silent faces in the ground.  
  
Draco sighed enviously. Potter had it all. The fame, the friends, the power. Okay, so Lord Voldemort was out to kill him, but he'd avoided it thus far, hadn't he? No, Harry Potter, the Boy who Lived, would ever be a thorn in the younger Malfoy's side. With Granger and Weasley by his sides, Potter was far too smart to get caught by any plot of a rambuncious if evil spirit.  
  
Quiet screams but I refuse to listen.  
  
Granger's smarts would show him any plots, Weasley's ability to bungle through any given situation with his skin in tact would give him a constant ally. And Potter's own resourcefulness wasn't to be underestimated either. Draco had done that a few times, and wasn't looking forwards to making that mistake again. He may have been a stubborn and proud boy, but he certainly wasn't a stupid one. Draco sighed, and walked into the commons of Slytherin.  
  
If there is a hell, I'm sure this is how it smells.  
  
Goyle and Crabbe sat eating a mountain of sweets. Pansy and Blaise called for his attention as he entered, but Draco broodingly bypassed them, and walked down the stairs to the boys dormitory. Without Granger at least, he'd assumed harry to be beatable. But even petrified, the bushy haired girl had managed to help Potter weasel his way out of another sticky situation. If only his father had placed the book in Hermione's things.  
  
Wish this were a dream but no, it isn't.  
  
Harry turned from the rainfilled sky, and headed inside. He was soaked to the skin, and feeling not much better. Now he was cold and miserable, instead of just miserable. He went to the boy's lavatory, and wrung his robe out a little, before shaking it smooth again, and heading up towards the Gryffendor Commons.  
  
Walk.  
  
"Milfoil Blossom." he stated, and the portrait opened, admitting him to the warmth of the red and gold decorated room. A few people sat here or there, and Seamus waved him over. "What's up?" Harry asked. "Ron and his sister are upstairs in our dormitory. They both looked upset...and soaked. You three fall in the lake?" the irish boy asked. "It's raining pretty hard out." Harry shrugged, and shrugged off his outer robe before going upstairs.  
  
In the Rain.  
  
Ginny sat on the edge of Ron's bed, humming softly. She looked up as the door opened, and harry slipped inside quietly. "Sorry...I'll go." she whispered, and he shook his head. She sat down again, and Harry hung his robe up to dry. "You alright?" he asked, sitting on the edge of his bed, facing her. Ron was fast asleep, but the stains of tears were clear upon his freckled cheeks. "Better than he is." she stated, brushing a lock of damp red hair off his forehead. Harry smiled.  
  
In the Rain.  
  
"When Lockheart said he was going to leave you down there...I've never seen Ron so angry...he really loves you, Ginny. Don't ever mistake his teasing or arguing for anything other than that." he ordered her. Ginny smiled. "I know. ....Are you alright, harry?" she asked, eyes fliching to his arm. "yeah...Fawkes healed it completely, though madam Pomfrey keeps poking at me, waiting for me to keel over." he grimaced. Ginny blushed. 'Thank you Harry." she said softly.  
  
I walk in the Rain, in the rain. Am I right, or am I wrong?  
  
"Anytime." he smiled, and she rose. "I'd better go." she said. "I'll walk you down to the commons." Harry offered, and opened the dormitory door for her. They didn't speak on the way down the stairs, but when they reached the bottom, harry cleared his throat. "Um...Ginny." He said, and she stopped, looking at him with a faint blush. "yes Harry?" she asked. "Umm...In the Chamber...Tom said...." he looked for the words, then shook his head.  
  
And is it here that I belong?  
  
"Nevermind. Sleep well." Harry said, and hurried back up the stairs. Ginny sighed sadly, and went to her room. Drying her hair with a spell, then crawling into pyjamas, Ginny got ready for bed. She climbed under the covers, and drew her curtains, so her bed would be dark. Then she lay down, unable to sleep. She closed her eyes, and though of the past few months. Handsome Tom, her confidante, showing her the past at Hogwarts, listening to her go on and on about Harry, consoling her feelings after valentines day.  
  
Walk.  
  
He'd seemed so sweet and kind to her, listening like that. She's trusted him...and he'd been making her hurt people. Hurt Hermione and Harry and Ron. She's even petrified poor Penelope, Percy's girlfriend. But no one hated her. No one was angry with her...Poor little Ginny weasley, manipulated by a nightmarish book.  
  
In the Rain.  
  
But he was gone now...the memory of Voldemort was gone forever, the diary destroyed. Tom couldn't hurt her anymore. Besides...Harry would protect her, and so would Ron.  
  
In the rain.  
  
Harry watched Ron sleep for a time, then changed for bed. He took off his glasses, and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to come. Instead of sweet respite, sleep granted nightmares to him. The Basilisk's blind face ever so close to him, It's breath moving his hair as it exhaled fetidly on him. Seeing Ginny's cold little form, lying in the chamber of Secrets.  
  
In the Rain.  
  
Ron woke the the mumbled sounds of harry's Dream talk. He watched his friend toss and turn, and then remembered what his mother used to do when he had nightmares. Softly, Ron began to hum a lullaby. He got a little louder, and eventually, Harry fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.  
  
I walk in the Rain. In the rain. Why do I feel so Alone?  
  
Draco crawled into bed, and closed the green curtains, cutting off his housemates from his sight. He laid in bed, and wondered what would happen to him when he left Hogwarts for good. Would he be made into a servant of the dark lord, like his father? Would he choose a different path in life? Perhaps move away, and set his feet on his own path. He rolled over, and closed his eyes. He had five years to decide his fate. He pushed it on the back burner for now.  
  
In the Kitchens of Hogwarts, Dobby the house elf gave a contented sigh, and curled up in a rucksack, a damp sock clenched posessively in his little hand.  
  
For some reason, I think of Home. 


End file.
